Ch. 9

• Gospel of John written


  AD 90 and 100
• Author of Gospel of John


  Eyewitness, written in stages and edited by his community
• Audience of Gospel of John


  • Followers of John the Baptist
  • Jews who expelled Jewish Christians from the synagogues
  • Samaritan converts
  • Gentile Christians
• Sources for Gospel of John


  • Written and oral traditions
  • Synoptic gospels
  • Seven miracles
• Themes of Gospel of John


  • Jesus' miracles
  • Strengthen the faith of the believers
  • Fight heresies
• Style of Gospel of John


  Jesus speaks in long discourses, very poetic, mystical, & symbolic (in Greek), Seven "signs" or miracles, Seven "I AM" statements
• Organization of Gospel of John


  Broken into 2 parts: Book of signs (focus on miracles), Book of glory (focus on Paschal Mystery)
• Christology in Gospel of John


  Divinity of Jesus as starting point, "The Word became flesh" (John 1:14)
• Christology in Synoptic Gospels


  Earthliness of Jesus as starting point, Nativity stories and his Baptism
• Author of Gospel of John


  Traditionally the "Beloved Disciple", the Apostle John, Scholars say multiple authors: Johannine community
• Conclusions about Gospel of John


  • Some material appears twice
  • Eyewitness account (John 21:24)
  • "It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true."
• Sources for Gospel of John


  • Written and Oral Traditions
  • Synoptic Gospels
  • Eyewitness Accounts
  • The Apostle John's stories being handed down and passed around the community
• Gospel of John written


  Between 90 and 100 AD
• Gospel of John is the last of the Gospels, most advanced theologically
• Earliest fragment of any New Testament text, Fragment of John's Gospel

  Circa 130 AD
• Fragment of John's Gospel proves its importance by its circulation
• Diverse audience of Gospel of John


  • Followers of John the Baptist
  • Jews expelled from synagogues
  • Samaritan converts
  • Gentile Christians
• "I AM" Statements in Gospel of John


  • Seven total
  • Reference to The Burning Bush (Exodus 3:14)
  • God replied to Moses: I am who I am. Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.
  • Opponents thought this was Blasphemy (John 8:58-59)
  • Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM." So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
• Themes of the Gospel of John


  • Strengthen the faith of believers
  • Consider the greater development of theology than the previous Gospels and Letters
  • Winning new Converts
  • Remember his diverse audience
  • This Gospel was highly circulated
• Mistaken ideas addressed in Gospel of John


  • Docetism – Jesus only appears human
  • Gnosticism – Christ (divine) is separate from Jesus (man)
  • "Word became flesh" is an anti-Gnostic assertion
  • Believers that thought John the Baptist was the Messiah
• Concern for women in Gospel of John


  • Women are shown as inferior to men in the Jewish community
  • Mary the mother of Jesus influences the first miracle at the Wedding at Cana (John 2)
  • Woman at the well (John 4) prototype of a missionary
  • Woman caught in adultery is saved (John 8)
  • More women than men were at the foot of the Cross (John 19)
  • The first witness of the resurrection is a woman (John 20) Mary of Magdala
• Unique style of Gospel of John


  Very literary and symbolic, Longer discourses rather than just short sayings or parables, More mystical than the synoptics, Not a puzzle to be solved but rather a hidden truth that transcends our full understanding
• Unique theology emphasized in Gospel of John


  • Greater emphasis on Jesus Christ being true God AND true Man
  • Critique of early heresies
  • "I AM" Statements
  • Jesus is the focus of God's Covenant
  • The "Way" to God
  • All salvation history points to Jesus Christ
• Unique Jewish emphases in Gospel of John


  • Jewish feasts are highlighted throughout Jesus' ministry
  • Curing on the Sabbath
  • 3 Passovers throughout the three years of ministry
  • Feat of Tabernacles (John 7-9)
  • Feast of Dedication (John 10)
  • Centrality of Judea for Jesus' ministry
• New characters in Gospel of John


  • Nicodemus (John 3, 7, and 19)
  • Lazarus (John 11)
  • A man born blind (John 9)
  • The Samaritan Woman (John 4)
• John 1:1 -3;14: '"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the word became flesh."'
• Incarnation


  If Jesus Christ only seemed to be human, He could not have died on the cross. If Jesus Christ only seemed to be human, Our Human Nature has not been healed. If Jesus Christ only seemed to be human, then we have never perceived the Glory of God.
• Mary, the Mother of God

  By responding "Yes" to God's invitation to the Incarnation at the Annunciation, Mary was already collaborating with the whole work her Son was to accomplish.
• Christology


  The Study of Christ—trying to understand who He is. John focuses on the Heavenly origins of Christ and his fundamental identity as Divine. The synoptics provide a narrative of Jesus of Nazareth and develop his story as an Ascension to glory through the Paschal Mystery.
• The Signs in John's Gospel


  • Sign 1: The Wedding at Cana
  • Sign 2: Cure of the Official's Son
  • Sign 3: Cure on a Sabbath
  • Sign 4 and 5: Multiplication of Loaves and Walking on Water
  • Sign 6: Cure of a Man Born Blind
  • Sign 7: Raising of Lazarus
• Bread of Life Discourse


  After these signs, Jesus tells his disciples that he replaces the manna of the Exodus. He is the source of eternal life—The Eucharist. The Eucharist brings about an intimate relationship between Christ and the Church.
• Messages in the Book of Glory and Epilogue of Gospel of John


  • Service
  • Love
  • Promise of the holy spirit
• Passion Narrative in Gospel of John


  Jesus is In Control of the events of his Passion, John highlights Old Testament concerning the crucifixion, Jesus entrusted his Mother to the Beloved Disciple, and symbolically, to the whole Church.
• Resurrection of Jesus in Gospel of John


  The Fundamental Event of our Salvation! John shows how a Personal Encounter with Jesus, not an empty tomb, brings about faith. Jesus appears to the Apostles and commissions them to continue his work, to be Evangelists.